Kate's Aquarium - Update

adrian-collier-aquarium-190427.jpeg

Added a Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus plant from Aquarium Co-Op.


Seattle, WA.

Kate's Aquarium - Update

adrian-collier-aquarium-190424.jpeg

Added an EHEIM skim350 skimmer. This removes a surface film created from the tanks inhabitants as well as increasing the efficiency of gas exchange from the water column to the surround air.


Seattle, WA.

Kate's Aquarium - Update

adrian-collier-aquarium-190501-02.jpeg

Fish-in cycle complete! Ammonia and nitrite finally read 0 ppm. The aquarium was established on 04/07/2019. It took roughly 23 days (on vacation so I couldn't test every day) to cycle with fish in the tank. Only three fish were lost in the process, 2 which may have been caused by new tank syndrome, and 1 that was a jumper. Nitrates continuously hover below 5.0 ppm. This is my first planted tank so I'm not sure if this is normal.


Seattle, WA.

Aquarium - Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates

adrian-collier-aquarium-190501-01.jpeg

Nitrites are still hovering around 1.0 ppm. I found an interesting post on reddit regarding nitrites in the aquarium. I wanted to save the discussion for future reference. Below is the part that interested me.


Let's walk through what these levels would probably look like throughout a 1 month cycle (obviously things can be a little different based on temperature, hardness, etc) This won't follow the 7 hours/13 hours reproductions since that's 100% efficiency. Realistically, a true cycle should go a bit quicker since I set the nitrobacter to reproduce at 24 hours, definitely longer than it would take them normally. Will also assume you brought it back to 4 ppm each day, even though you can't really tell the difference between 3.8 and 4.

Day------Amm---Nitrite---Nitrate

Day 1 .....4.0.........0...........0
Day 2 .....4.0.........0...........0
Day 3 .....4.0.........0...........0
Day 4 .....4.0.........0...........0
Day 5 .....4.0.........0...........0
Day 6 ....3.99......0.03.........0
Day 7 ....3.95......0.14.........0
Day 8 .....3.8.......0.56.........0
Day 9 .....3.2........2.8..........0
Day 10 ....0.8.......11.8.........0
Day 11 .....0..........23..........0
Day 12 .....0........33.2..........0
Day 13 .....0........44.4..........0
Day 14 .....0........55.6..........0
Day 15 .....0........66.8..........0
Day 16 .....0.........78..........0.1
Day 17 .....0.........89..........0.3
Day 18 .....0........99.9........0.7
Day 19 .....0.......110.5........1.5
Day 20 .....0.......120.5........3.1
Day 21 .....0.......129.4........6.3
Day 22 .....0.......135.9........12.7
Day 23 .....0.......137.7........25.5
Day 24 .....0........130..........51.1
Day 25 .....0.......103.6.......102.3
Day 26 .....0........39.5........204.7
Day 27 .....0.........0...........274.1
Day 28 .....0.........0...........289.7

Notice that from day 10 to day 26 your nitrites are beyond what your test kit can read. Over two weeks of no noticeable change in test results unless you test nitrates as well. Edit2, also notice that you go from 8 times what your nitrite test can read (39.5 ppm on day 26) to 0 ppm nitrates overnight.

Edit,
Another thing to notice is that if you only dose 2 ppm ammonia instead of 4 ppm from the day it 0's onward, you will produce half as much nitrite from then on. Since the nitrobacter are multiplying exponentially, this is only saving you 1 day on your cycle and you are ending up with half as many nitrosomonas in the end. There is no reason to do this.


Seattle, WA.

Kate's Aquarium - Update

adrian-collier-aquarium-190427-05.jpeg

It's been very rewarding watching Kate enjoy her new aquarium. She interacts with it multiple times a day and always gets a big kick out of it. The fish-in cycle process has been very challenging and the purpose of this post is to keep a log.

I conduct daily testing to monitor ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels. The ammonia spike lasted for 2-3 days and now reads zero daily. A day after ammonia reading zero, nitrite spiked and we're now on day 8 of having nitrite readings hovering around 1.0 ppm. I've been doing daily or ever other day water changes as well as adding Seachem Prime to control ammonia and nitrite. While I get readings of 5.0 ppm for nitrate I'm not sure how or where it's going.

The aquarium is planted with 10 various species of plant. Perhaps the plants are consuming the nitrates? I tested the tap water for nitrates and the results indicated 0 ppm.

The tank is estimated to be 3 weeks old. The first week all I used was Top Fin ReadiStart. I assumed it was a de-chlorinator however realized my error about a week into the process. That's when I incorporated Seachem Stability and Prime into the aquarium.

I followed the directions for Seachem Stability with an initial dose for 40 gallons. Every day after I would add two cap fulls for maintenance with additional doses as I made water changes.

I'd also dose Seachem Prime as I made water changes, however I'd use a full capful (treatment for 50 gallons) while doing 50% water changes or roughly 20 gallons. My thinking was to contain the elevated levels of ammonia and nitrite.

I'm currently using an Marineland Bio-Wheel Emporer 400 with 2 x filters and 4 x AquaClear 70 sponges and a pre-filter sponge. I also use an Eheim Pro Wet/Dry Canister Filter (2227). Inside I use two trays full of Eheim substrat.

I've purchased a CO2 kit to install within the aquarium. I'm currently waiting for the parts to arrive and will follow up once the systems are in place.


Seattle, WA.